Goatmoose

Around 13 years ago, my mom bought me a book. “You should read this,” she said. “It’s becoming a pretty big deal.” As a 4th grade English teacher, I figured she knew about the trends. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was the book she gave me. It looked strange, questionably juvenile, and I regret to say that I put off reading it for a short while. In my defense, I was 13ish, and that’s an age where you don’t like anything. I recall the book sat on my shelf for a short time before I decided to give it a read.

And then that was that.

All subsequent entries in the series were pre-ordered and read front to back on their respective release dates. Hours were spent online, chatting with others about the stories, taking trivia tests, playing the associated video games, and wishing Hogwarts was a real place, and Quidditch a real game. I wanted chocolate frogs and butterbeer and something to happen when I shouted wingardium leviosa aside from looking like a total nerd. None of it happened, but Potter was there to make it all seem real.

After years passed and I entered college, I found the girl that would become my wife, who had never read any of the books or seen the films to that point. She didn’t want to. She thought it sounded lame. I had to read them aloud to her, and she’s now arguably an even bigger Harry Potter fan than myself.

I recall the day I read the first news about the first film. Casting had been announced, and the article showed one of the first released pictures of Radcliffe, Watson & Grint. I called my mom into my room to show her how the stories were going to come to life, and the photo of the kids playing the title roles. “They’re perfect,” she said. They were. Exactly as we had imagined. The years since have proved it to be true beyond simply looking the part.

The past ten years of film adaptations have taken the story from our imaginations to our eyes. Alterations and exclusions as expected, they have been mostly honest to the tale and have had the blessing of great writers, a number of well-placed directors and a remarkable cast that spans half of the UK’s A-list and leaves little to be desired.

Chris Columbus’ first two films, filled with all the novelty pop and cheer that defines all his movies, was fitting for the (comparatively) light nature of the first two stories. The third story starts the series descent into darker content with the return of Sirius, the foundation of Pettigrew’s betrayal and expanded questioning of Snape’s loyalties. The movie, artfully directed by Alfonso Cuaron, remains my favorite of the series and captured this darkness perfectly. The Goblet of Fire, the story I personally find the weakest, is also the one I rank the lowest of the film versions. It also marked director Mike Newell’s only entry in the series. The last few years saw the story come to its completion, with the final four films under the helm of David Yates. The final few were so important as an all-together unit, as each builds upon the next towards the finish, that it was doubly appropriate they were all directed by the same man. He was able to expand upon his own work and give the series the finale it deserved.

I don’t intend to review the films. I don’t want to try and critique. Mostly, I want to say thank you to a decade of individuals who proved they were dedicated to their art, and who showed conviction in bringing the story to life in a brilliant, entertaining, masterful way. Things changed, adaptations were made, and enormous amounts of J.K. Rowling’s original stories were omitted – such is the nature of film. Regardless, there is no doubt that everyone involved truly cared about what they were doing, and it all made the series that much more special. And the three leads couldn’t have been more expertly casted. Someone saw the future in them, and their development was crucial. And none of it would have existed without Ms. Rowling’s perfect stories happening first.

Of course, the final film was bittersweet. Since the last book came out in 2007, fans were spoiled for a few years with the knowledge that despite print being finished, they still had films to look forward to. With a runtime shorter than most of the other films paired with the painful anticipation since Part I in November, the final installment was over doubly fast, and after a decade of thinking “I can’t wait until the next one,” fans can’t help but be left with an element of sadness. The series, in all forms, is complete.

Many wonder what’s next. Many don’t expect any more. Personally, I’m just glad to have been alive during the time period where Harry Potter made its evolution. I know I will forever treasure the series, in both forms, as master works, and am ecstatic to share the series with my children when they exist. That is now my biggest moment of anticipation when it comes to Harry Potter. My personal “what’s next.”

I don’t doubt the books will prove timeless. Hopefully I can help them experience the magic as much as I did.

Until then – Mischief managed.

Tags: harry potter